Elambu Vertriku Rising to Win Working Group, India, 2015-2017 … · 2019-04-25 · Elambu Vertriku...
Transcript of Elambu Vertriku Rising to Win Working Group, India, 2015-2017 … · 2019-04-25 · Elambu Vertriku...
Elambu Vertriku “Rising to Win” Working Group, India, 2015-2017
Partnered with the First United Methodist Churches of Hickory and Hendersonville
The Rising to Win Group began in only the second year of ZOE bringing its empowerment model to India. The
group faced start-up challenges which are typical for a new program, in addition to some hurdles specific to Indian
culture. This new program also contended with unusually extreme weather and currency challenges. The group
pushed through these obstacles and were able to celebrate their graduation at the end 2017. The following is the
summary provided by the ZOE India staff of their progress during the three years.
A note of thanks from the Rising to Win Group:
“We love and thank ZOE for coming into our life and providing all our request and teaching us on
various topics. We are very much grateful to the ZOE partners for lending their supportive hands in
bringing us up to gradation in our life.”
Group Activity: This group sells rice. They procure wholesale rice bags from rice mills, repack them in small
quantities, and supply to the local families and hotels. Some of the group members decide on the brand and
quantity of rice to be procured, a few are involved in negotiation and procurement of rice bags. Certain members
repack them into small quantity bags and few more does all selling activities. They supply group members with
rice bags at less profit. They do daily and weekly payment collection from customers. By doing this rice business
the group earns around 30000 rupees ($462) per month.
Individual Income Activities: The following are the main projects/businesses the head of household are running.
Usually youth are given a small grant to start a small business of buying and reselling items or raising small
livestock in their first year. After additional training and gaining experience, they receive start-up kits, grants, or
low interest loans to progress to businesses that will provide greater earnings. All group members have opened
savings accounts with their earnings.
• ZOE provided 25 members with 3 to 5 goats based on the breed and the requirement from the group
member. These members do goat farming and sell goat milk and grown up goats to earn for their living. Each
member on an average earn around 400 rupees ($6) a day.
• One member is having a bullock cart which was provided by ZOE, he earns around 25000 rupees ($38) a day
whenever he gets a job.
• Three members started provision shops with supplies provided by ZOE They sell small items, cool drinks, etc.
They earn around 400 rupees ($6) a day.
• Three members were provided with sewing machines, they stitch clothes for local family members and also
for some garment exporters. They earn around 425 rupees ($6.50) per day.
• One member has a fast-food stall. ZOE had supported him for buying the stove, table, chairs, and utensils for
the stall. With this business he earns around 500 ($7.7) rupees a day.
• One member was interested in owning a power tiller machine to do agriculture tilling on the land for people.
On an average he earns around 1250 rupees ($19) as and when he get work.
• One of the member has a rice shop and earns nearly 400 rupees ($6) per day.
Vocational Training: Twenty members attended training on cattle farming. One member got himself trained in
cooking at a local restaurant.
Food Security: Before ZOE, these children depended on labor for food, they go to work in homes and other place
where they would get a small money or food after work. When they did not have work they sleep without food
that day. Usually they managed their living with a maximum of one meal a day.
ZOE provided group members with seeds for kitchen vegetable gardens and chickens. By doing these agricultural
activities the households get nutritious meals regularly. They also sell the excess vegetables and eggs to the local
vendors and neighbors and earn additional income of about $1 per day. Now, with earnings from their business,
these children and their family members have minimum of two healthy and nutritious meals a day which include
rice, pulses, vegetables, fruits, chicken, fish etc.
Health: ZOE issued the group members health and hygiene packs which contained toothbrushes, toothpaste,
bathing soap, washing soap, combs, towels, shampoo). They were also provided with mosquito nets, blankets,
and floor mats. Eighteen latrines have been constructed with ZOE providing bricks, cements, sand, doors and
roofs. Some households shifted to rented houses which have latrine and bathrooms.
Housing: ZOE has helped the youth repair four houses which were affected in December 2015 flood and the
December 2016 cyclone. ZOE provide bricks, cement bags, sand, cement roofing sheets, pipes, and the group was
involved in constructing the homes.
Education: As an outcome of the personal counselling provided by the ZOE facilitators nearly all siblings of the
group members regularly attend school. ZOE supported them by providing school fees (up to 50% as needed),
notebooks, school bags, and school uniforms.
Faith: The group now has 16 households which attend church services regularly. Three members were born
Christians and have attended church regularly with their families. Thirteen members and their siblings started
attending church regularly on Sunday for worship services after three years of participating in their ZOE group.
Others gather to participate in prayers during group meetings.
Rising to Win Group Graduation List
34 Heads of Households, 62 Total Children
Rajeshwari 20
Sarathkumar 18
Thenmozhi 20
Aravindan
Sripriya 19
Chinnarasu.S 16
Athilakshmi
Sarath
Sundararajan 18
Praveenkumar.B 16
Priyadharshini
Ajaykumar.S 18
Sneka
Nandhini.S 15
Santhanam
Prasanth.G 20
Prathap
Prabu
Ragu.K 18
Ashok.M 17
Akash
Kumaresan 18
Archana
Dass
Arunkumar.S 20
Harish
Vanitha.K 20
Yuvaraj
Ajith.I 19
Aarthi
Arujun 20
Ajith
Alex.C 19
Kaviyarasan
Ashok.S 21
Anu
Arunkumar
Aruna.R 14
Bhuthan 20
Dhanalakshmi 20
Jawhar 19
Kumaresan.M 19
Ramki
Nathiya.S 19
Navinkumar.R 20
Sarankumar
Nisha.B 15
Manikandan
Arthi
Kotti
Nishya. 20
Kanimozhi
Chinraj
Nagalakshmi.M 16
Shanmugapriya
Yuvasri
Roshan Abiyasab 19
Tamilarasan 20
Vishnupriya 18
Vignesh
Yuvaraj.M 20
Tamilselvi 18
Elambu Vertriku “Rising to Win” Group Summary Report as submitted by ZOE India in August 2017:
There are currently 41 households and a total of 75 children in this group. Mr. Yuvaraj is the elected group leader,
the secretary role is done by Ms. Rajalakshmi, the treasurer is Mr. Ashok, and their mentor is Mr. Poongavanam.
The group members named themselves Rising to Win (Elambu Vertriku in Tamil language).
Income Generation
The following are current income projects group members have begun after receiving business management
training and a grant of money or resources. One member also received vocational training in tailoring at a private
institute.
• 21 members have implemented goat breeding, they sell the milk and meat
• 1 member received a sewing machine and makes garments
• 2 members have provision stores where they sell groceries and vegetables
• 1 member sells rice through a small merchant shop
• 1 member manages a fast food stall
Agriculture and Food Security
Many of the group members started vegetable
gardens but are now reconsidering this endeavor
due to challenges with the climate and poor soil
conditions. They will focus instead on raising
livestock.
Health and Hygiene
After training sessions, everyone was given a
hygiene kit which contained a towel, bathing soap,
washing soap (for laundry), tooth paste, a tooth
brush, a small bottle of coconut oil (as we live in
the hot region children are given oil to be rubbed
on their head to reduce sun stroke), a small pack
of face powder, and shampoo. Girls were
provided with additional gender specific training
and feminine hygiene products. The youth were
also taught the importance of continuing these hygiene habits regularly even after the provided materials are
exhausted.
The heads of households were taught how to keep their homes and surroundings clean and safe in order to
prevent conditions that would cause sicknesses like malaria, dengue, swine flu, etc. Local government sanitary
officers helped present this training as well as a program to increase awareness on HIV/AIDS. ZOE program
facilitators explained the benefits of having healthy food habits and developing physical fitness routines like
regular exercise and yoga practice. The consequences of malnutrition were also touched upon.
After they demonstrated they were implementing
the trainings, the youth and their siblings received
mosquito nets, blankets, and floor mats for
sleeping.
Child Rights
To gain access to national services, take school
exams, travel or hold a job, people in India need
official documentation: national identity cards,
birth certificates, and caste or income certificates.
Yet the fact that they need the identification and
that ZOE can help them obtain the documents is
“eye opening” for every member. ZOE helps the
youth understand what they need to do in order
to claim their rights in society and then provides
assistance to follow through. The working group
plays an important role to help each other protect
their rights.
Education
Thirty children who had dropped out of school were counseled and encouraged to return to their studies. To help
enable and motivate them, ZOE provided school bags, stationary kits (containing one pouch with pencil, eraser,
pen, small scale, and a sharpener), notebooks, and uniforms.
Group Activities
• Group meetings are conducted regularly and members join hands to voluntarily support each other to
complete projects like improving home conditions or working on a garden/crop.
• This group has two income projects. They manage a rice merchant shop and a drinking water can (bubble top)
business. They also maintain a group fund to use for loans to members and emergency needs.
• They have helped sanitary officers conduct community outreach programs on hygiene, HIV/AIDS awareness
and community cleanliness.
• Members attended a Christmas celebration with other ZOE groups and participated in the graduation
ceremony for the first ZOE groups formed.
• Through networking activities Rising to Win Group leaders meet with other ZOE group leaders to talk about
the challenges and successes they have had as they work through the ZOE empowerment model. In this way
they learn from each other.
Challenges: This group was challenged by the flood and cyclone which nearly shook each and every part of
Chennai and its suburbs in the month of December for the last two years (2015 and 2016).
The following case study highlights the progress a youth from your working group has made during the past
two years. Following this report is some general information regarding how ZOE children learn to protect their
rights and become connected to others so they will continue to thrive after graduation.
Head of Household: Ashok, 19
After his father’s sudden illness in 2014, Ashok’s family has struggled to
provide even for their basic needs. His mother works in a clothing
export company but does not earn enough to cover the expense of
more than one poor meal per day. Ashok could not find work.
Through ZOE, Ashok has begun to improve his family’s situation
through farming related businesses. With agricultural training he
learned how to properly care for a garden and then planted tomatoes
and green chilies. After animal husbandry training he received a grant
to raise goats and chickens. The family is now eating two meals a day
and Ashok can imagine a future where he will achieve his dream of
becoming a driver. He is also saving his money to improve the family’s
home.
Living in poverty often means lacking both resources and time to properly care for oneself and home. ZOE
training stresses the basics of keeping body and environment clean but also provides assistance so that the group
members can register for government health insurance. Making sure every child-led family has a proper latrine
with wash area is a high priority for ZOE. In India, the program can order toilet kits for about $100 each which the
working group can then construct for each other. Ashok’s family does not currently have a proper latrine so this
will be a project for his group to help him complete.
Although the family is Hindu, through ZOE they have been exposed to Christianity and Ashok has even attended
services for Christmas, Good Friday and Easter. When asked if he had any prayer requests he replied “Please pray
for my father’s health.”
Ashok’s Dream
• What makes you feel sad? The death of my brother Akash.
• What makes you happy? Playing cricket.
• What happens in the community that you do not like? Politics.
• What is your dream for the future? To be a driver.
• What will be your guiding principles to achieve your dream? Hard work and earn money.
Focus On: Child Rights and Community Connections
Orphans and other desperate children who qualify for the ZOE empowerment program are some of the most
vulnerable in the world. All the awful things that you hear or read about happening to young people are
especially prevalent in this group. Their extreme poverty and lack of an effective guardian leaves them voiceless
in the face of multiple abuses.
A major focus of ZOE’s empowerment program is teaching children about the rights their local government and
international law promises. Such training is often conducted by the local officials in charge of enforcing child
rights so the children get know those who are responsible for their protection. By the second year, ZOE children
understand what their rights are and how to report offenses. Most importantly, they have a large group of fellow
children to back them up and support them. Working together, these children are often better able to defend
their rights than others in their village. If someone abuses or threatens abuse to a child in a ZOE working group,
the entire group rallies to their aide. This continues past graduation.
In the many communities where ZOE works, young girls are particularly vulnerable to abuse. Protecting the rights
of girls includes educating the entire community about the dangers and harm inherent in all forms of
mistreatment, especially child marriage, sex trafficking, and female genital mutilation. ZOE starts addressing
these issues by bringing young people, male and female, together in working groups where all are treated equal
and provided with equal opportunities. Friendship and respect grow out of the work they do to help each other
prosper. Together, the group can then reach out to educate others in the village, making life better for all
children in the community.
Finally, to ensure that the young people can continue to protect their rights after graduating from ZOE, the
program facilitators help group members become connected to resources in the community. These include:
• School administrators so that the heads of households feel welcome in the schools and are better able to
keep their younger siblings enrolled.
• Local leaders who can help settle disputes over property improperly seized by relatives and can address
acts of abuse or discrimination.
• Government representatives who can provide expert advice and even assistance in areas of business
development, agriculture or higher education.
ZOE’s goal is to ensure that all children are able to stand up for themselves and their rights in the community.
Often children in the ZOE group learn this lesson so well that they not only defend their own rights, but also the
rights of others who may be abused or neglected in their communities.
Rising To Win Working Group: a report from the February 2016, ZOE Trip of Hope
We first met Visnupriya at her home. She raises goats and has 4. She began with the one goat she got through the
group IGA (Income Generating Activity).
From Liji, Jabez’s wife and program leader of ZOE in India, we learned that it
was difficult to organize this group because they couldn't find a Christian
woman to be a mentor. This is a predominantly Hindu area, so they had to
search a long time to find a Christian. ZOE in India prefers to have women
mentors in order to protect the girls. The group reported that they have
IGAs of grocery stores, music, snack shops and goats. Their first IGA was a
goat for each family. They are planning a group project of rice cultivation
and peanut growing on leased land. They also have plans to construct a
house. For community projects they clean trash and burn it and take the
sick to clinics. Before ZOE most of the boys did construction work.
We also visited Sam who has had a store for 5 months. We bought soft drinks from him.
He was very diligent about keeping track of how many he sold.
After the afternoon break, we went to the Indian Gospel Mission (IGM) for a tour,
program and dinner. We learned about the mission of IGM which was founded by Jabez's
father in 1967. It is still run by the family, including his mother. His brother Joe is the
director of the mission, and Jabez is pastor of the church. The orphanage has several
buildings in the area and houses a total of 190 orphans, boys and girls separate. They also
have a medical mission. Jabez shared with us that they do get threatened by radical
Hindus at times but not when he or Joe is around because of their good relations with the
police. This is a common theme for Jabez--he is very protective of those he works with. All
the children in ZOE have his cell number and can call him any time if they are threatened. He can have the police
there in minutes.
[*Sam is not on the group’s name list, but it is common for the youth in India to go my many nicknames.]
The following report highlights the activities and achievements of two members of your working group.
Although each child is unique, most of the children in the Rise to Win Working Group have faced similar
challenges and are making comparable progress through the ZOE empowerment model. The first section is a
transcription of the youth’s testimony, followed by specifics regarding their experiences with ZOE and ending
with general information about ZOE’s “Dream” approach to helping the young people set goals.
Yuvaraj’s (age 19) Story: My family belongs to a poor class. My father died when I was very young, and no one
gave me any money for food or school. I am the only one in my family. I did not know what to do. Having a sickly
mother who was not able to work and earn, I had to leave my studies and move to search for a job. I ended up
working construction in Chengalpattu. With my earnings I still
was not able to get medicine for my mother and we had only
one meal a day, which was food left from the houses I worked
on. That was the time I heard about a project called ZOE, which
was working among the orphans. Expecting some food and
clothing, I attended the first meeting.
At one of the first meetings, the children are led through the
process of writing their Dream sheet – more information about
this process is below.
To the left is Yuvaraj
with his Dream sheet
and these are his responses to the guiding questions:
Yuvaraj’s Dream
What makes me sad: My father’s death.
What makes happy: To help others in my community.
What I do not like in my community: Drinking alcohol.
My dream for the future: To own a big goat farm.
Guiding Principles: Doing hard work to achieve my goal.
Of his achievements through ZOE, which are discussed below, Yuvaraj
says, “God helped me find and grow my own food and be able to care for
my mother and my goat business. I ask for prayers for my mother and my
dream.”
Nisha’s (age 15) Story:
My family is very poor. As my father had kidney failure, so
he could not earn money for food and school for us. Then
one day my mother died because she had jaundice. I am
the eldest child in my family (she has two brothers,
Manikandan, 13 and Kotti, 9 and a sister, Arthi, 11). I had
to leave my studies and move to find a job and ended up
working as a maid in a house in a nearby village. With my
earnings I was not able to get medicine for my father, and
we had only one meal a day. The food was leftover from
houses where I worked. My earnings were not enough to
provide schooling, food, and clothing. That was the time I
learned about ZOE which was working with orphans.
Thinking that I would get some food and clothing, I attended the first meeting.
Nisha’s Dream:
What makes me sad: My mother’s death and family situation.
What makes me happy: Watching TV.
What I do not like in my community: When others tease me.
My dream for the future: That I can help others.
Guiding Principles: Don’t be sad. That with working hard every day I can
achieve my goals.
Nisha further notes, “I have a dream to own my business of selling goats,
taking big orders, and placing lots of orphans and poor children like me in a
job, and helping children like me. Please pray for my father and my family.”
First Year Achievements and Activities
Income generation: Within the first year, ZOE tries to help all the
heads of households find a way to earn money. The youth of the
Rise to Win Group were provided training on how to start a business,
manage money, and handle government regulations. They were
then shown a list of 200 different business ideas. Both Yuvaraj and
Nisha decided that they had the skills to raise goats. The other
members of their working group agreed and allocated ZOE funds so
that they could purchase goats. They have already bred their goats
and are currently earning about four to six dollars a day. As their
herds increase they will be able to sell the goats as well as the milk.
Goats have the additional benefit of providing manure to improve
their gardens.
Food security: Since joining ZOE’s Rise to Win Group, both children have been working to lift themselves and
their families out of poverty and to improve the quality of their lives. Previously Nisha and her family’s meals
consisted of rice or wheat and as a result all the children suffered from malnutrition. Similarly, Yuvaraj and his
mother ate one simple, starch based meal. With seeds and hoes from ZOE, both Nisha and Yuvaraj planted
gardens with vegetables such as eggplant, pumpkin, and tomatoes. Both have harvested their first crops. Now
that they understand the importance of a balanced diet, have money to purchase additional food items, and have
learned how to properly cook their food, they are eating two nutritional meals daily.
Health and hygiene: After their group learned about good hygiene practices, members helped each other build
latrines, so both Yuvaraj and Nisha now have a proper and hygienic facility to use. To further help the children
improve their health, ZOE provided initial supplies of soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, mosquito nets, blankets, and
sleeping mats.
Child rights: Training on child rights helped the group understand what constitutes child abuse and labor and how
to protect themselves from mistreatment or discrimination. ZOE helped Nisha’s siblings return to classes by
supplying school fees and materials. Additionally all children in the group were assisted by their program
facilitator to obtain birth certificates since many were missing this important documentation.
Beyond the training and the grants, the children have found a peer group who understands them, supports them,
and prays with them. This is providing them with hope and strengths to achieve their dreams.
Focus on: The Dream
Most orphans and vulnerable children entering the ZOE empowerment program face a daily struggle to survive.
With their energy consumed by the need to find food for themselves and their siblings, there is neither time to
think about the future nor reason to hope for something better. But through ZOE and your partnership, the
children learn to imagine a new life and prepare to make it a reality.
During one of the early working group meetings, the ZOE program
facilitator leads members through an exercise called the Dream process
where they explore their current situation and then consider what they
want and how to get it. After discussing hopes and goals with their
siblings, the family leader creates a poster of responses to a standard set
of questions from the ZOE program facilitator. To the right is an
example of the Dream document.
The head of each family presents their Dream to the rest of the working
group members who express support and give feedback. These Dream
documents help the program facilitators better understand the
conditions of the children’s lives so they can address specific needs or
traumas suffered. The family keeps a copy of their Dream, often
displaying it in their home to provide daily motivation as they strive to
create their new life.
Focus On: Working Group Formation Poverty often means a life lived in isolation, unconnected even from those who share the same struggles and
challenges. A ZOE working group provides orphans and vulnerable children a community where they experience
understanding, compassion and acceptance. Together, they begin their journey towards a better life.
To form a working group, ZOE program facilitators first contact community leaders and local officials to educate
them about the empowerment approach and to ask for their help in identifying children. During the first
meeting, the children and their young caregivers learn how they will change and improve their lives within three
years. Then ZOE takes a step back.
Working group members elect their own leadership, make rules to guide their meetings, choose a group name
and decide where to hold weekly gatherings. These once-marginalized children learn from ZOE staff that their
community and their Hope Companion partner have faith in their ability to succeed.
The eldest child from each family attends weekly meetings to discuss their activities, both achievements and
challenges, and to share in prayer and reflection with each other. Additionally, ZOE’s staff and selected
community members hold regular training sessions with the group to cover topics such as food security, health
and disease prevention, business management, and child rights.
One of the first actions the group takes is to select a project, such as a group farm, or a mutual help activity, like
building dish drying racks for each other. This group endeavor fosters companionship and teaches the children
that they can depend on each other as they journey together towards a new life of self-sufficiency.
Focus on: Faith
India has some distinctive nuances in sharing the Christian faith. While there is a large amount of religious
plurality, pushing someone to convert to a specific faith is looked upon unfavorably by the Indian government and
some of the population. ZOE’s form of evangelism in every country is very gentle, with the program itself being
religiously non-restrictive or coercive. In India, ZOE tries to stay within the legal bounds, while still showing God’s
love in Christ.
Every adult mentor is Christian. In some villages this means that ZOE must bring an adult mentor from a
neighboring community to serve in this capacity. While the Christian faith is not pushed, the young people in the
group do ask why the mentor is volunteering to help them in such powerful ways. This offers an opportunity for
the mentor to speak about who calls them to serve others and why.
To hear the gospel is powerful, but to see it is also very compelling. If you would like to know more about this
aspect of ZOE’s program, please ask us and we are happy to share more. ZOE is always respectful of local culture,
while being discernably Christian as an organization. We find this to be effective on a number of levels.
Focus on: First Connections
One of the biggest disadvantages orphans and vulnerable children face is isolation from peers and the larger
community. Struggling on their own, the children lack moral support, access to community resources, and a
network of people to help them progress and face challenges. ZOE creates connections.
Peer group. Even though there may be hundreds of orphans and vulnerable children living in a community or
village, they often self-segregate because of the conditions of their poverty, disease, and/or the stigma of
HIV/AIDS. When each new member tells their story during the first working group meeting, they are greatly
encouraged to find that there are others who share their same struggles. Then ZOE introduces the children to
young people who already graduated from or have made significant progress through ZOE’s empowerment
program and the new ZOE participants are inspired and energized to begin the work of transformation.
Program facilitator and mentor. Each working group is assigned a program facilitator/social worker. These ZOE
staff members usually speak the mother tongue of the region, hold a diploma in social work or related fields and
have experience working with children. Additionally, the working group members select a person from the local
community to serve as a mentor and advocate for the children within the community. Mentors receive training
from ZOE and then attend weekly meetings, make home visits and help ZOE resolve challenges the group may
face in the community.
And a powerful connection is you! All ZOE working groups know the opportunities they receive are from God,
through the love and concern coming from their partners far away. They are amazed that you would care for
them without ever having met them. This powerful connection is further strengthened when a Hope Companion
visits the children to witness what they have achieved. In many ways you stand in place of their parents, and to
hear that you are proud of what they have accomplished is transformative for these children. Thank you for being
a part of building God’s Kingdom in this way.